I’d done the right thing. The police are there to investigate and solve crime and I’d given them their lead. But I’d been shooed away. So now I tried to think of what the best of the wrong things would be.
I had to assume the police would eventually take Tomoe’s disappearance seriously – someone can only leave all their worldly goods and take off on a lovers’ tiff/work event for so long. But with the line her company was taking this was likely to be weeks away. And the thought of what could happen to her in that time made my stomach turn. She’d hurt me but that wasn’t the kind of hurt I wanted her to feel back.
But I was no detective and I was struggling even for bad ideas. I decided to work my way back from the end. It seemed certain the yakuza lay there, and they had to be left to the police. I tried to think of who could have led Tomoe to them. Well-connected clients perhaps, but I had no idea who they were. The only way I could think of finding out was through her company, but they’d already shut the door on me and seemed to be in on whatever this was.
Which meant the only logical option was the police, except I’d exhausted that possibility as well. It was hopeless.
Unless …
‘No,’ he said flatly. ‘If he was killed by them it probably means he was mixed up in their business. And if your girlfriend has been taken, it means by looking into it she got caught up too. So if I was to speak to them, all of a sudden I’d be in the middle of things. You seem a nice enough guy but that’s not a favour – that’s a suicide pact.’
He went silent for a moment, as though belatedly assessing the implications of associating with gangsters.
‘You see, even if I’m the one who does your bidding, you’ll be a part of it too. And you don’t want to be a part of the yakuza. They’re like a big, bad octopus. Dip a toe in the water and they’ll slip and slither their way up your legs and drag the rest of you in too. And once you’re in there’s no way out – try pulling a tentacle away and even if you succeed, you’ll see another seven have taken its place.
‘You want my advice? Stay away from them. And while you’re at it, stay away from me. I’m going to do you a final favour and pretend this conversation didn’t happen. That way I don’t have to report it and put us both in the shit.’
He hung up.
It seemed a safe bet Ernesto wasn’t going to be the answer after all.
I gave up looking for another before I fell asleep that night. My unconscious, however, was more diligent. It worked while I slept and gave me its unwelcome conclusion in the morning.
There was certainly logic to it. If I really did want to track Tomoe down – and despite our recent issues, perhaps even partly because of them, I desperately did – realistically it was the only way left. The challenge lay in my inverse samurai spirit. I found my honour in life and I was very keen to preserve it.
My instincts had always worked in harmony with this outlook, pulling me from trouble rather than thrusting me towards it. That I was now being so dramatically betrayed gave me pause for thought. Unfortunately, that thought came up with nothing else. That was why, despite it being the idea first and most firmly rejected, despite every sinew straining against it, I decided to visit the yakuza.
The beaming smile I was greeted with didn’t disguise the slightly squashed features of a face that had seen its fair share of life. His words came back to me: ‘I know people. I know how things work.’
It was as good a bet as any.
Once we’d said our hellos, the caretaker was concern personified again.
‘Have you heard any news of Tomo-chan?’ he asked, truncating her name in affection.
‘No, nothing. That’s why I’m here. I need to ask a favour.’
‘Anything, I told you. Just tell me what.’
‘Well …’ I started. ‘If I needed to visit a yakuza office, how would I go about finding one?’
This warranted a curious look. I wasn’t sure whether it was because of the involvement of the yakuza, my desire to meet them, or that Tomoe might have contacts in the underworld.
‘Tomo-chan was caught up with the yakuza?’ he asked.
‘No,’ I said. ‘Well, in the end yes, but only because of her father.’
‘But he passed away. It was suicide wasn’t it?’ he said pointedly.
‘Yes,’ I replied. ‘But Tomoe thought it more of an assisted suicide her father may not have willingly participated in. I think she went missing because she was trying to find out who provided the help.’
‘And now you want to follow the same path?’ he asked. ‘Who’s going to come after you when you go missing? I’m getting a bit old for that kind of thing.’
‘No,’ I said, more firmly than I felt. ‘I’m not going to tread on anyone’s toes, or do anything to make them feel it would be better I wasn’t around. But it’s got to be the yakuza. And if they’ve taken her because she annoyed them, I can explain her probing’s all done. We know it was a misunderstanding. Her dad had been unhappy for a long time – in the end work and family pressure got too much. Tomoe got carried away in her grief but everyone’s come to their senses now.’
‘And you think it will be as easy as that?’
‘I don’t know,’ I said, desperate he shouldn’t undermine the line I’d been pitching to myself. ‘If you want to know the truth, I didn’t want to get involved in the business with her father and I don’t know if I should feel guilty about that or not. But now Tomoe’s gone missing I can’t do nothing. And right now this seems to be the only thing left.’
He looked at me a moment longer and then gave a faint nod.
‘Which yakuza is it?’
‘The Takata-gumi.’
He nodded again, this time in a resigned sort of way.
‘I was a bit wilder in my youth and I ran across them once or twice, although they were known as the Dewaya-gumi then. I think they’ve moved their headquarters to Ginza but back then their main office was in Kabukichō, just around the corner from where the Koma Theater used to be. We could start there.’
I looked at him. The crow’s feet, usually so eager to dance into smile, stood still. There was something reassuring about him and I wanted to take up his offer, but Ernesto’s voice played in my ears.
‘I appreciate it, I really do. But either my plan comes good and everything’s OK, or it doesn’t and there’ll be more trouble. Either way, I don’t see how it will help to put another person in the firing line.’
He opened his mouth to protest but I stopped him.
‘Like you said, your wild days are behind you. Leave them there and enjoy your family. Maybe I’ve got my adventures up ahead.’
I said it just to placate him. I’d come to Tokyo to get my life back on track. Showdowns in the Wild East were not in my plans.